Big Boots to Fill
by SolarLunar
Summary: At the end of Series 1, Ryan died. So who was the Captain in charge before Becker? Or, like many things was it not as simple as that? My first fic. T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1 : Andrews

**AN: Well, this is my first fic ever, so I hope you enjoy! Reviews would be very welcome.**

**This basically came from me wondering why no-one was shown to take over the security team between Captain Ryan and Becker (that is, during Series 2).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. Yeah...**

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><p><span>Big Boots to Fill<span>

Captain Andrews prided himself on being a veteran, a man who had seen it all. At 35 years old and with numerous missions and wars behind him, no-one had tried to correct him. No-one dared.

Until now. He had just joined this Government run base, after the last Captain, a Captain Ryan, had been killed in action, which, for a start, was unusual for an operation run solely in Britain. Following this, other signs started to immerge that suggested this wasn't a normal job.

He hadn't been told what it was that the ARC actually did and the 'Anomaly Research Centre' was hardly the most informative title. The email, that practically ordered him to accept the position, only held personnel numbers and a footnote of 'must be willing to deal with abnormalities'. The man who'd hired him, a James Lester hadn't bothered with an interview, just rung up a couple of days after the position had been confirmed, told him when he began, where he began and asked him curtly to send his questions to an email address so they could be replied to later. Which they weren't. The internet held no clues. Neither did newspapers.

He marched up to the ARC in a cloud annoyance. He wasn't a common soldier being signed-up; he was going to be the new Captain. When he came up to the first security barrier, he merely mentioned his name and two soldiers immediately detached themselves from the rest and asked him to follow them. At least he was expected.

As he came to what seemed to be the main corridor, a young man, practically no more than a teenager, came rolling out on his skateboard straight into him.

"Sorry, I...Sorry," he stuttered, before quickly standing. Andrews was just about to open his mouth to pass remarks about careless oafs, when he was cut off by a vaguely familiar voice.

"I see you've meet Connor. He is a prime example of whom you'll have to contend with if you wish to stay. A bit of an extreme example, but not the worst, by any means." A black, well-polished shoe planted itself by Andrews' head. The soldier quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Mr Lester, I presume? Sir, may I just..." Someone else ran into him cutting him off.

"Lester," came a broad Scottish accent. "I need a word, _now_." The blond man then strode on past down the corridor, grabbing Connor as he went.

"_That_ would be the worst. You two," he addressed the other soldiers beside him. "Take Captain Andrews down to the parade room to meet Sergeant Howard." He turned back to the speechless Andrews. "He'll fill you in."

And with that, Lester walked off. Captain Andrews stood in the corridor amazed, but quickly snapped out of it as the soldiers lead him away to a largish room, where the rest of the men were in their own little worlds mainly, checking weapons, polishing equipment or simply having a gossip. To Andrews, the whole scene was a mess and breathed out slowly and sharply in silent anger.

"WHAT ARE YOU MEN DOING?" he shouted and instantly a hush descended upon the room. Someone dropped a tin. "I was under the impression that this unit was meant to be ready to be mobilised at all times of the day. A fit, streamlined, efficient division! Instead, I find chaos! And that is unacceptable! What is it?"

The men just stared at him like he had just landed from a different planet and immediately sprouted antennae. A stifled smirk arose from somewhere near the back. Andrews was just about to comment on this when a well-built blond man hurried up to him and swiftly gave a salute. Slightly sloppy but still... the principle was there.

"Sergeant Howard, sir," the soldier introduced himself. "We may seem a little chaotic but you have arrived at the shift change and we had a small dinosaur scare yesterday afternoon. False alert, though, but the guns still needed some servicing afterwards."

"Then, I presume that should have been done last night then. And dinosaur indeed. You must be a bit over the limit if you think that excuse will cut it," scoffed Andrews, eyeing the other man up. It was never a good sign when excuses were being presented so early. Well, if that was the attitude of this place, it was going to get a shock. The sergeant, however, didn't seem to register the Captain's inner resolve and merely blinked in surprise.

"With respect, sir, you realise that the men aren't technically in the army any more and therefore, if a job runs past work hours, they are entitled to go as soon as any immediate danger is covered."

"Don't be stupid man. You can't leave work for the next day if it can be done now, including maintenance."

Andrews pushed passed the other man to face the semi-circle of faces that had crowded round the discussion. Time to put a stop to this.

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><p>"So, you met the new Captain yet?" asked Connor, sidling up to Abby as she investigated the inside of one the numerous plants that were growing in her lab.<p>

"Hmm?" she replied vaguely. "Oh, no, not yet. Anyone interesting?"

"You should hear the stories going round about him. So far, he's shouted at his Sergeant, accusing him of being drunk when he was told about the dinosaur aspect of the job, had the security doing drills so he could 'assess their fitness', along with firing a couple because they left at the end of the day 'before all daily duties were completed', and, worst of all, tried to stop Stephen using guns!" Connor shook his head. "The guy's a nutter."

"You two should get along swimmingly then," jabbed Abby, smiling at Connor as he frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean? He's all 'discipline, exercise, Rah!'I have so far run into him on my skateboard. You should have seen the look he gave me." Abby slammed her hand down on the desk and stared at Connor with a perplexed gaze. She then shook her head and sighed.

"You idiot."

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><p>The warehouse was empty at this time of day; only the night-watchman remained, holding his nightly vigil over the cavernous room. The crates had been taken out earlier that day, so tonight in particular the space felt empty for him. And dark. He never forgot the darkness, because of the contrast with what happened next.<p>

The darkness was chased away all of a sudden by a yellow and white glow that fell through the window pane on the little office. Perplexed, the night-watchman put down his book and grabbed his torch, fully expecting some fire to have been made by some tramps who had decided that this seemed as nice a spot as any to bed down throughout the chilly hours of early morning.

Instead, he found a fairly large star-like orb. It was unlike anything he'd ever seen before. He kept his distance, frightened by the prospect of this new-fangled terrorism that had been planted in his brain by numerous 'cutting-edge' dramas.

At that moment, it flickered, taking him by surprise. Leaping back, he saw the outline of something emerge. It was about two foot taller than him and so, in the interests of self-preservation, the night-watchman scuttled back into the office and called the police.

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><p>Abby's phone was always on loud enough to wake her, not that she was a very deep-sleeper.<p>

Connor's phone was always on loud enough to wake her, so that she could wake him, a deep-sleeper.

Thus it was that when both their phones started ringing at 2.30am, Abby then had to enlist the help of Rex to wake Connor. Chucking the food on the sleeping figure, Abby began the well-rehearsed routine of 'getting-Connor-up'. It generally took about five minutes and a well-judged kick.

On arriving at the anomaly site, Abby and Connor made their way over to where Cutter and Stephen were stood, discussing/arguing in subdued tones whether of not it would be a good idea to set up a barrier, or simply position soldiers aimed to shoot at anything that came through. It wasn't really necessary, as they already had a procedure (sort of) in place to deal will open anomalies. They were only arguing really to relieve themselves of the 'elephant in the room'. Even though Cutter said he didn't care about the affair whilst in the shopping centre, the tension between the pair was building day-by-day. However, Abby and Connor needed to know what was happening and it was either this or ask Captain Andrews, who seemed to be in a heated discussion with his Sergeant and was growing redder by the minute.

Captain Andrews was _not_ pleased with the situation. He'd already felt isolated from the entire of the ARC, who seemed to think it was really funny to wind the newbie up. Dinosaurs indeed! Now, he'd been dragged out of bed in the middle of the night to come down here and be faced with a glowing ball that couldn't be satisfactorily be explained by anyone. On top of that, _someone_, and he glared pointedly at Howard here, had let that Stephen loose with a gun. Like he didn't trust Andrews.

"Sir, with respect, you haven't been here long and have never faced these occurrences before. As soon as this is over, I'm sure you'll understand why Mr Hart feels the need to be armed," stated Howard, trying to keep his voice as diplomatically level as possible.

"Why?" retorted Andrews. "Don't say it. Probably, a T-rex could emerge at any moment from... from... whatever that thing is and eat Mr Hart if he isn't in arm's reach of a firearm."

"Something like that, Sir," replied Howard, pointedly not acknowledging the sarcasm in his boss' voice. Foolishly. He was a mild-mannered man, but, like all soldiers, contained a natural firmness and discipline within his pale, blond exterior, a fact that had been sourly humiliated by the accusations of drunkenness that Andrews had been throwing at him ever since the two met.

"Damn it, man! There are no dinosaurs and I think it highly unprofessional for you to be on duty and be spewing such utter nonsense! If a dinosaur enters here, I eat my boots!"

As if on cue, a shout went up, causing the two men to spin round to face the anomaly, which appeared to be flickering slightly, before spewing out a large reptile. A cry went up from Connor who immediately identified the creature.

"ALLOSAURUS! FROM THE JURASSIC PERIOD!"

"NEVER MIND WHEN, CONNOR! WHAT DOES IT EAT?" came the feminine response.

There was a pause, followed by the familiar Scottish accent. "LET'S JUST SAY, I WOULDN'T ADVICE THIS AS A PET!"

Howard had automatically moved back into the defensive position that the other soldiers had formed, kneeling down and targeting the thick-set skull. The dinosaur itself wasn't too frisky and seemed to merely be looking around in a bemused fashion, causing no reason to open fire, but Howard found it was always best to be prepared.

However, he wasn't prepared for the reaction of his superior. Andrews froze, staring into the six foot tall animal's eyes, which were hooded by red eyebrows of bone. Nothing he had seen in all his years of service came close to the fear that ran through him now.

Suddenly, his arm was tugged from behind. "Get back, you fool," said Stephen, yanking the Captain behind the line of soldiers, before leaving him there to assist Cutter in his attempts to entice the Allosaurus back through. Unfortunately, the dinosaur seemed to be having none of it and the tranquilisers were in their boxes, in the car, on the other side of the aforementioned problem.

Connor and Abby, meanwhile, were trying to catch the attention of the Allosaurus by whooping and cheering, but the dinosaur let them fall into its background hearing. It was more taken to the one figure that seemed to be off-balanced to the others, using the same techniques that a lion does in locating a tiny defect in a prey. This figure remained standing while most others were crouched; an easy target.

It attention clearly diverted, Cutter checked what had caused this reaction.

"Howard! Get your Captain out of here!" Howard frowned and glanced back to see his Andrews swaying slightly in disbelief. Typical that pompous oaf; ever since, he'd come here, it was clear he wasn't suited to the job. He'd swanned in thinking this was just a routine Government position. Well, Howard would be blowed if he was going to ruin the operations now. Especially after Ryan.

Getting up he grab the arm of the bewildered Captain, who put up very little resistance, and dragged over back to the guard's office, well away from the incursion, and shoved him, very unceremoniously, through the door, slamming it behind him. And immediately regretting it.

The Allosaurus, following their moves in great detail, must have been startled by the quick actions and started paw the ground, ducking his head in time. Despite everything, or possibly because of it, Howard had to suppress a laugh. It looked comical.

The next few seconds Howard can only remember in slow-mo.

"OK!" came Abby's voice. "IT'S LOOKS WORRYINGLY LIKE HE'S MARKING HIS TERRIOTORY OUT TO HOWARD. ANY MINUTE HE COULD..." The rest of the sentence was cut off by the roar that came from the creature and the sound of feet starting to pound on the floor. Howard couldn't hear any of this though over his pounding heart. He was trapped in the corner. This was ridiculous. He was going to die, killed by a dinosaur and an incompetent Captain; it was stuff like this that made court investigations.

The beast was up to a fair speed and Howard could almost feel the hot-breathe gently flowing over his face. It contrasted to all else that was happening around him.

Just as the dinosaur was about to reach him, it swayed. Its head jarred to the left and the subsequent body twisted and rolled. A great thud followed and reverberated around the warehouse.

The Allosaurus fell silent, the heavy breathing just audible.

Howard looked up and noticed a very pleased-looking and definitely smug Stephen hold up his tranquiliser rifle and waved it to the crowd. Connor stood behind him, panting and red-faced from where he'd dodged and weaved to the car. Howard just smiled with the same patient smile of millions of Mums who indulged their children occasionally. It broadened at Stephen's next floating comment.

"And he said I shouldn't be allowed within fifty feet of a fire-arm.

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><p>The clean didn't take too long. All the soldiers knew that the anomaly could wink out of existence at any second and therefore realised the importance of returning the beast in haste. Cutter created some barbaric, stuttering reason to the night guard about hidden-camera shows and 'the special effects they use these days'. The lightened mood was suppressed for a short while after he walked away, complaining about how Claudia would have fixed it better. Howard, a soldier from the beginning of the project, knew there was no Claudia, yet somehow...<p>

One thing that wasn't tackled until everything was ready to go back was Andrews. Every time a soldier reminded Howard that he 'really ought to be the one to let him out, as he put him in, and besides, you're of a higher rank, and better at calming people down', Howard merely shrugged and said he'd 'do it in a minute'.

When the minute arrived, Howard had a firm wish to simply leave the Captain there, but, unfortunately, Howard suffered from a fully-active conscience. He reluctantly unlocked the door and Andrews wandered out slowly.

While the dinosaur was being stopped and pushed back through, Andrews watched. Every now and again, his mind would replay how he could have acted and become the hero, but every time, the thought ended with him being eaten, or being place in a situation that would have given him nightmares and meant he had to go to a therapist and being classed insane when he brought up dinosaurs in the sessions. This job would drive him to Bedlam.

By the time the door was unlocked (he hadn't pounded on the window or made loud remarks), he had come to the decision. He had dignity and at the moment, it was being threatened.

"Dinosaurs?" He said, leaning against the wall.

"Yes, sir," replied Howard, picking his words carefully.

"You fight dinosaurs?"

"More capture them and put them back, sir." The phrase clanged about in the Andrews head for a moment, breaking the dignity part, before it settled in and made itself at home.

"Put. Them. Back. They ARE dangerous. They should be killed instantly, man!"

"No, sir."

"Sorry?"

"They are lost. They shouldn't be killed for that, sir." There was a pause as Howard checked his superior's face and noted the flame of anger and frustration that had become so familiar in the pas four days light up again. "No offence, sir."

"YOU are insane! The WHOLE outfit is insane! These creatures are... They just are and that's bad enough! And that you should feel compassionate towards them! IT'S ABSURD! I don't work with Sergeants who are so... AHHH." The captain cried out in frustration. Howard kept his voice level for his next few words.

"Then leave, sir."

"What? How dare you!"

"This job entails dinosaurs and you will quickly find that killing them all is NOT the answer. And I dare because this is NOT the Army and you have to be willing to accept comments being made by inferiors, because they may be right, and no-one has complete and unquestionable experience, so we need the input. So if you can't take that, then LEAVE." The final word was squeezed through gritted teeth; Howard was very protective of his job. He'd lost men to it and he really, really didn't want to end up in control, but neither did he want someone unsuitable ruining everything.

Andrews did a commendable impression of a dick, squashing his lips together to try to hold his anger. It didn't work.

"FINE! I will leave! But you mark my words, when it all goes wrong and you suddenly want to kill them all, DON'T COME TO ME!" And he stormed away.

Howard turned to watching men. And sighed. Connor was smirking.

"So... you're stuck with the Captain's paper work still then?" Howard groaned.

"Don't. Just don't." And with that, he dragged his feet towards the car which would lead him to the paper mountain which Howard was sure would kill him before any dinosaur.

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><p><strong>So, what did you think?<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 : Sanders

**AN: I'm back! Even I wasn't expecting to get this done so soon, but things just happened to work that way. I hope that people enjoy this one and review (please).**

**My thanks to Squabble for my FIRST EVER review. And such a wonderful one as well! =-) And of course, to X-Mrs-Scott-X for support/persuasion.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. Though if the current owner wants to give me it...**

The second Captain was much better, probably (in Howard's opinion) due to the fact that he'd been told about the presence of dinosaurs before he'd been allowed to come into the ARC. Jenny, finally settling in after the giant worm incident, had handled the hiring of the man and thus was able to spend more time answering important questions, such as 'How real are these dinosaurs?'

The man had walked in, without real purpose, and seemed perfectly happy to spend some time being nosy, while waiting for Lester to finish a phone call with the minister. He entered the parade room, which was roughly in the same state that Andrews had encountered in about two weeks earlier. His reaction to it immediately set him apart. Far from starting a row, the Captain strolled up to one of the groups of men and joined in their conversation about the TV the night before. It was only when Stephen came into check his position on civilian employees using guns that the chat ended and the day's work began.

The only issue was the man, a red-head whose fair skin placed him younger than his 32 years, had promptly formed a very strong friendship Connor.

While it was nice that bonds were being made between colleagues, Howard couldn't help but feel that this particular friendship would end in disaster. Connor was, after all, extremely over-exuberant sometimes, but also impressionable and the constant smile, verging on the dangerous side of a grin, that filled Captain Sanders' face had ominous qualities.

However, this was one fault and not even an obviously harmful one yet. No, Sanders drilled the men at regular intervals, but always allowed a decent and relaxed atmosphere and accepted that these men were more like part-time security guards than men in a regiment, such as he had just left. A heated conversation between Sanders and Hart resulted in an amicable chat, once it was established that although Stephen had a gun and often went into the field first, he was not about to undermine the Captain's authority.

And so it was that Howard was calm and thankful that the burden of Captain's paperwork was no longer his.

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><p>As far as Sanders was concerned, this job was perfect. The potential for adventure and danger, with good friends and a warm bed at the end of the day. He was enthralled by Connor, though. The young man had so much Life and so many weird quirks, Sanders found it impossible to be bored in his presence. The two had been introduced to each other by Lester on the first day, though the civil servant did add 'He's possibly more bother than the dinosaurs'.<p>

Indeed, the half of his second day was spent in Connor's lab, under the pretence of learning more about the science-y side of the ARC. Sanders had never been that into science, an old bag of a Chemistry teacher putting him off for life, but Connor made the subjects he was talking about far more interesting.

Yes, this place was simply incredible. So far.

Now all that was needed was something to do.

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><p>The call came in at noon, four days after Sanders first arrived.<p>

"Hello, police?"

"Yes. How can we be of service?"

"You might not believe this, but there's a weird ball of light in my living room. My husband tried to poke it with a broom, but the end... It just disappeared! And it's throbbing..."

"Ma'am, please stay calm. Help's on its way. We advise you leave your home."

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><p>"Right, guys. You've practiced this drill, which, at the moment, is more than I have, so I want you to show me how well it can be done. Got it!" Sanders said in a loud voice.<p>

"Yes sir!" came the response, not in unison, but as separate men acknowledging a leader in their own time. Many were already buzzing around, carrying equipment which could possibly be of use once.

Satisfied with this, Sanders turned to Howard. "Remind me, we don't need to bring anything else, do we?"

"No," said Howard, shutting and clipping a box of tranquilisers. "We fire when they're in danger, but the scientists are the ones who carry their own equipment." He smiled. "We tried to help them once and found that scientists are actually pretty possessive. At least, they are in this place." He tugged the box off the table and it opened with a crash, spreading glass, liquid and silence across the room. A quick glance up by Howard restarted the hum of activities, as soldiers remembered that gawping at their Sergeant's mistakes wasn't their job.

"Never mind, Howard. You can... catch us up," he smirked, and, grabbing a gun, left to organise the others who were just tying the last of the boxes down to the vehicles.

Howard groaned.

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><p>"Good afternoon. My name is Jenny and I'm part of the operations currently taking place in your house. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" The worried couple, holding a griping toddler, turned their heads from the scene of the men in black charging into their new home with guns.<p>

"Only if you'll answer some of ours," grumbled Dan, the husband. Jenny smiled her best public smile.

"Of course. Now, have you heard any unusual noises coming from your house since you left it?"

"Like what? The whole experience is unusual!" complained Tracy, repositioning her toddler.

"Like growling?" butted in Cutter as he passed. Jenny bit her lip in annoyance.

"What? No! Why, should we done?"

"Absolutely not; he was only joking," improvised Jenny, making a mental note to have a stern word to the members of the ARC about conversations with the public. The idea mainly revolved around leaving it all to her. "Errr... got anywhere to stay – just for a few hours. This could take a while." Jenny watched the mother open her mouth and added hastily, "Though, everything is completely in hand and under control."

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><p>The house was searched but no creatures were found nor were their any sign of disturbance, slightly to Sanders disappointment. However, the anomaly was still going strong, its fluid movement entrancing the Captain. No wonder these people were so interested in them. They were beautiful, in a naturally dangerous and mysterious way.<p>

"So, what do you think? Pretty sexy, eh?" asked Connor, heaving his equipment box onto a coffee table. The legs of the piece of furniture buckled, then collapsed, sending an ornamental vase crashing to the floor where it splintered into a hundred pieces. Connor tapped his eg a few times, then looked to Sanders.

"Don't go to me looking for forgiveness, mate. It's not my table. Or my vase." Connor was just about to respond when Cutter entered and took in the sight. The Scot smiled in understanding.

"Either a creature's come out here or Lester is going to dock your pay."

Connor sighed and tried to haul the box onto the sofa. Sanders took the handle in one hand and pulled it onto the cushions. He frowned.

"Blimey! What on Earth have you got in here?" Connor, still staring at the case, tried to pick it up one-handedly and failed.

"We found the anomalies affect radio signals, so we wasn't to record some results in order to help us devise a way to detect them," supplied Cutter, once it became clear Connor was absorbed in working out how Sanders picked it up. Sanders nodded; he'd remembered Connor rambling about radio waves and testing it, though it was interspersed with random comments at the time.

"CUTTER!" cut in Stephen's voice and the technician, followed by Howard, cam running in. "Lester's just phoned. Said there's a report of a serious creature incursion the other side of town."

"Serious?"

"Multiple animals, according to the noises they're making. Abby's all ready to go." Cutter glanced back at the still-open anomaly, clearly indecisive about leaving this one or staying behind to help with it. Sanders decided now to provide support.

"You go. This one doesn't seem to be spewing out anything, so Connor can take the readings and I'll cover him. Howard." The sergeant snapped to attention. "Take the men to assist Cutter and Hart."

"Well, that's settled then," stated Cutter. "Just one thing, Sanders."

"Yes, Cutter?"

"Protect Connor, rather than being pulled into his usual shenanigans." And the scientist strode out, an 'OI!' ringing in his ears.

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><p>"All I'm saying is that it might not be the best idea to leave Sanders and Connor alone with something important."<p>

"They'll be fine, Abby. Just think of it like this. Connor will be too obsessed with his work to cause Sanders any problems. They get along, yes. However, that does not mean that they're going to turn into twins," Cutter reassured her. Abby was more than a tab dubious about the plan and had even phoned up Howard to get a second opinion of Sanders. Unfortunately for her, Howard simply reminded her that while Sanders was very sociable, he had earned his promotion to Captain and now had several years of experience behind him.

Stephen hit the nail on the head with his next comment. "Still worried about this Caroline girl?" He had sat through hours of Abby complaints about the woman. "Look, Abby, just because Connor can make bad choices, doesn't mean that he does all the time." He smiled. "Wow!"

"What?" queried Cutter.

"Listen to me. Putting faith in Connor." The travellers all breathed out in laughter, as they approached the house where the call had been put in.

* * *

><p>Half an hour after they others had left and Sanders was lying on his back, throwing his phone up and catching it, growing steadily more and more bored. Connor was fiddling about on his computer and an amicable, yet stale, silence had formed as the younger man concentrated on adjusting a spherical object that Sanders wasn't particularly sure about.<p>

A clock struck 2.30. Sanders groaned and got up sharply.

"Listen, mate. I'm off to the 'toilette'. Shout if a T-rex decides to appear," as he stretched his back out.

"Alright, mate. I've just got to find the natural frequency of the anomaly and then, we can relax a little. Only I'm worried the anomaly will wink out before I get there."

"Can't you just find another one later?"

"NO! That one could be different. The whole point is is that we testing to see how much difference there is between anomalies." Sanders held up his hand in mock surrender and Connor smiled at his friend's antics. "It's serious work, this."

"I get it. It's cool."

Just as Sanders exited, Connor's phone rang.

"Temple."

"Connor, it's Abby. It turns out that what a woman thought was a bunch of vicious beasts was actually her neighbour's sound system being affected by some feedback. Stephen's not best pleased, but personally, I'm pretty pleased. We'll be back soon."

"Sure." Connor hung up as he heard the dialling tone, and chucked his phone onto sofa. It promptly collided with a set of spanners, one of which hit the resonating ball (that Sanders had failed to identify), which dropped onto the floor and rolled away.

Straight through the anomaly.

Connor closed his eyes and his head fell back. Great. He was going to get charged for that as well. This was turning into an expense trip.

However, with his eyes closed, Connor's hearing picked a warning rumble for the anomaly. Quickly jerking his head back and snapping his eyes open, he watched the anomaly flicker in a fashion that was becoming only too familiar.

"SANDERS! MAY NEED SOME HELP!" cried out Connor; then, as he backed to the side of the room, he added more quietly, "Fairly quickly."

Sanders, hearing the call, suddenly came through the doorway and literally ran into a lumbering reptile-like animal, about two and half feet off the ground, that was just about to attack Connor. Unfortunately, Sanders attempts to brake failed and he tripped over the hefty bulk. Twisting as he fell, Sanders landed with a thump to face the beast, which immediately lost interest in his previous prey and locked onto this collapsed victim, struggling to sit upright.

The pain that Sanders felt as the creature sunk his teeth into his leg culminated in the soldier seeing red. The room seemed to dim slightly, but as abruptly as the pain started, it stopped and the Captain felt the teeth withdraw.

Connor, having quickly recovered from being pinned against the wall by a creature which millions years ago, had taken the initiative and brought one of the broken table legs down over the head of the creature. While he knew the thick skull would have prevented any damage to the reptile, though he also knew Abby would still complain, he had distracted it and this meant he could lead it away from his injured friend.

However, as the creature swung around, its tail whipped out behind it and just caught Sanders on the side of the head. The soldier was forced onto the floor by the power of the blow and lay there dazed, his mind blank to his surroundings, until a second pain, briefer than the last, but agonising none the less, shot through him. The creature, in its bid to follow Connor, stepped on Sanders' new wound.

"Come on, beastie. Nice Lycaenops. This way." Connor coaxed the creature into the hallway and then realised that he had nowhere to lead it to after. The snapping jaws gnawed at the air just in front of the young scientist, who leapt back and the vicious attack. The attacker was loosing interest, though, and turned around.

Or at least, attempted to turn round. This particular house had not been built with a 3 foot long extinct beast in mind, and this particular beast had never encountered any especially narrow passageways in which it had to turn in. The Lycaenops, for that was what Connor was 90% certain it was, writhed in the space, allowing Connor to distract it again, which he did by lobbing a cream coloured high-heel shoe at it.

The roar that erupted was deafening and the creature lunged towards him in anger.

The roar was what brought Sanders to action. Up until that point, he was just sitting there, rubbing his eyes, willing the heat in his leg to subside, which it stubbornly refused to. But now? Now he was needed to do his job, and he felt useless; it was obvious his leg wouldn't support him, yet he needed to reach the attacker.

The attacker in question reached out to Connor, it's sharp claws slicing the air, where Connor had been a milli-second before. Connor was getting desperate now, though. His back pressed painfully against the frontdoor and the door handle dug into his back, yet he was the wrong side to open it and let himself out; besides he could hardly leave Sanders with this monster.

Then, it collapsed. Its legs no longer seemed to support it and, like the coffee table the Lycaenops slumped to the ground, dribbling on the carpet.

Connor looked up and saw Sanders, lying on the floor, the tranquiliser gun propped up. The man himself had a ghastly pale hue to his face, whiter than normal even, and green eyes filled with pain. The grin, though, remained.

Scrabbling over the heap, Connor took Sanders in his arms and helped the man sit up. Sanders grunted in effort.

"I'd ask if you are OK, but..." Connor started, but the comment died on his lips. "Can I borrow your phone?" The soldier nodded mutely and so Connor was able to call for help.

Sanders just watched the conscious mass, daring it to move.

* * *

><p>When the Professor arrived, Sanders was gone and Connor was just being checked over by the field medic. After a brief summary by Connor, he went over to view the downed creature.<p>

"Lycaenops. Late Permian."

"A reptile?" asked Jenny, walking up behind. Cutter smiled at her.

"Now there's a debate. A Synapsid; my best description is a cross between a reptile and a mammal, though palaeontologists argue what they are."

"Whatever it is, it had very negative opinion of Sanders. Still, the family will get a new carpet for their pains."

"She, not it. That's probably why it came through. I fear the resonating ball may have bounced too near her nest. Will Sanders be alright?"

"He'll live," shrugged Jenny, before being pulled over to the watching public, an excuse formulated in her mind as she strutted across. The job here and now, that's what had to be dealt with first.

* * *

><p>Three days later saw Howard visiting Sanders in hospital. His superior's expression as the Sergeant walked through the door was one of surprise.<p>

"How are you?"

"Me? Fantastically. I'm thinking of holding a party today. Invite everyone and we can have a dance," said Sanders, sarcastically. Howard frowned; he had a feeling something was up. "Sorry. The doctors say I'll be out in a couple of days, but that I'll have to come back." Now Sanders recognised the element of bitterness in the Captain's voice. He wasn't sure he wanted to ask the next question, but did anyway.

"What for?"

"Help with my leg. Apparently, some of the important muscles were torn and a few nerves and some others things that I didn't catch and the net result is... I'm not coming back."

"What? But you were perfect and I thought you enjoyed it..." Howard trailed off, realising he wasn't helping.

"I do," said Sanders, sadly. "It's the most amazing job, but I'm no good for it any more. The doctor says, at best, I'll be stuck with a limp the rest of my life and running is certainly out of the question. Lester offered me a place elsewhere in the ARC, but I have a feeling I'm still going to need to escape one day so..."

"Oh." Howard studied the floor. They'd ruined a good soldier within a week; it wasn't something he really wanted to face up to.

"I'll leave you with one consolation I have, though." Howard's head twitched up. Typical. This man could always find a little golden light to grin at.

"What?"

"I'm not much of a paperwork guy, so I'm going to hand it all to you."

Howard slumped in his chair.

**Feel free to let me know your thoughts. **


	3. Chapter 3 : Mermin

**Hello again. This one took a little longer, but I hope that means you like it even more **

**I had a few problems with the action sequence in this logistically, but am happy with it now (after three redrafts), though I would like feed-back (hint hint).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. Though I do dream...**

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><p>Howard leant back and relaxed. Ah, life was so much easier nowadays. He made a mental note to be nice to Connor from now on; at least, until he did something overwhelmingly stupid or annoying again, so oooo... three hours, possibly.<p>

No, this was a time to give the kid some credit. Ever since that ADD thing had started working, Howard and his men no longer had to respond to so many false alerts, leaving them to do things at their own pace far more. Drills could suddenly be longer and more complicated as there was less fear of them being interrupted.

The new Captain, with new drills, was arriving today. Howard was hoping that this man would be more similar to Sanders than Andrews. It was testimony to the effects of a bad Captain that Howard was now constantly anxious over a repeat performance. Sanders had placed his mind at rest for a while, but the insect of doubt had crept back; it was dangerous job and the last thing needed was a dodgy leader.

Sanders had kept in touch with Howard; he'd found a job at youth centre. Howard could imagine Sanders getting on well with children, his grin of mischief making him a hit with them. Anyway, he wanted to hear about his replacement, who would be arriving shortly.

"Comfortable are we, Sergeant?" Lester's voice sliced through Howard's thoughts. "No, don't get up. You're obviously very busy." Howard stared up at the civil servant and forced himself to a standing position. His interest was grasped by the middle-sized brown-haired man standing to attention in the doorway. The Sergeant raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly towards Lester.

"No harm in having someone with a little discipline, is there? Just because there's none in the research section doesn't mean security has to follow suit," commented Lester.

"No, sir," replied Howard, with a small smile.

"Anyway, introductions. Mermin, this is Sergeant Howard, the man who's been keeping your seat warm. Howard, this is Captain Mermin. Should be up to the job."

"Yes, no doubt he is, sir," said Howard. Lester paused for a second, studying Howard's features for any sign of mockery. The subject remained passive and neutral.

"Right, well, I'll leave you two to get acquainted, shall I?" and Lester left, Mermin stepping aside to let him passed. Silence fell until Lester's face peeped round the door again. "Oh, and Howard?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Look after this one, eh?" and he disappeared again.

The Captain was still standing to attention and he was watching Howard. Howard internally squirmed under the severe scrutiny. He wasn't used to this; most people who met him concentrated of the gun he was invariably carrying in public. This thought took him by surprise. He needed to get out socially more.

Howard's watch squeaked and he noticed five minutes had passed. And not a single word had been spoken between the pair, so Howard decided he should probably attempt to welcome the man.

"Captain Mermin, sir. Perhaps you'd let me introduce you to the other men," he started positively, believing this was better than seeming a stuttering fool.

"You're an old soldier, Howard," interrupted Mermin, his Yorkshire accent appearing so suddenly that Howard was thrown by the statement, for a statement it was. Mermin took this hesitation as a signal to continue. "An old soldier, yet obviously now used to being relaxed and informal in the presence of your superiors." Howard internally groaned; not another Andrews. "I take it as a representation of the atmosphere in this place?" Or not.

"Yes, sir. Most of the men are ex-army, but, having left, do expect a little more freedom and if you're too formal with the scientists, they laugh at you behind your back and ignore any instruction given by you." He paused in thought. "Actually, they ignore any instruction given by anyone, but I suppose they respect you more if you don't shout at them." The other man nodded and indicated to the door.

"The men?" Howard smiled and led the way to the parade room, acknowledging the Captain.

* * *

><p>Connor caught up with Howard in the break room as the Sergeant was getting some tea from the machine. As soon as the young man began the approach, Howard steeled himself for the onslaught of questions that amazingly never came. Instead, he fiddled with straws and after a glance by Howard, settled for tapping a spoon on the counter. Howard saw out the corner of his eye Stephen burying his head in his newspaper.<p>

"Connor!" The younger man stopped. "Mermin is fairly good. He has a thing about the man looking smart, but that won't affect you as a civilian, and about observing all the Health and Safety regulations, but he doesn't speak very much, though you can tell he's very commanding on occasion. Essentially, he simply expects what he asks to be done, to be done." Connor nodded, dropped the spoon and scuttled away. Howard heard Stephen quietly laughing. Stephen looked across to Howard.

"Abby warned him not to bug you too much. I think he got used to having a playmate in Sanders and was hoping for another one." Howard grunted. "By the way, do you know this guy's position on guns for non-soldiers?"

Howard frowned in thought for a few seconds. "I would say this H and S obsession may count against you. You'll have to go up to him and see if he likes you." Stephen nodded slowly, obviously not liking this prospect.

"Howard?"  
>"Hmm…"<p>

"Do you mind if you can look after your Captains. Only I'm getting pretty bored of persuading each new one that I should have a gun."

Howard smiled. "Do you know who you sound like, Hart?" Stephen frowned and shook his head. "Lester." And so, Howard left, not looking back to view the offended face that he knew would be there.

* * *

><p>Mermin was bemused with the man who stood before him. The alarm had gone off just after lunch and everybody had quickly scrabbled to gather kit in a flurry of activity. However, it didn't go unnoticed that someone else had joined his men in grabbing a firearm.<p>

Mr Hart's reputation may have preceded him, but he was currently on the defensive, spewing out a lot of rubbish about needing to protect the team in places that the soldiers couldn't go, though where that was Mermin had no idea, and was holding the rifle in his hands across his body. He reminded Mermin of his young toddler, protesting about the fact that 'Mummy always gives me the electronic drill'. Mermin didn't say a word of this; he just waited until Hart realised that he wasn't getting an argument, just a sore throat. Once the words had tailed off, Mermin began.

"Why don't you just leave the gun and we can have a conversation about it when we get back?"

"How about I _take_ the gun and we can have the conversation about it when we get back?"

"Because you don't have the proper, regulation training that all recruits in this section have to go through before being allowed anywhere near a gun in the field. I'm not having you be the exception!"

Stephen was just about the reply, probably with a response that he'd had training or, worse, he didn't need training when the Scottish scientist, that Mermin had also heard about through folklore, appeared.

"Are you lot coming?" He eyed the gun in Stephen's grasp. "It'll be easier if you just let him have it, Captain. He is actually a reasonable shot."

"NO!" stated Mermin. "It contravenes not only every rule in this place, but probably in the country as well. He's not going with it." Cutter looked, somewhat helplessly, towards Stephen, as the siren blared out behind him.

An eerie silence fell as the other men, already packed and raring to go, stopped to listen to the outcome of this argument. If Stephen broke resolve, it would a moment for all to remember; let's face it, it was never going to happen again. All that could be heard for a minute was the sound of the vehicles being started.

"Fine!" A hushed gasp echoed through the ranks. Stephen _handed his gun back_. Never before had this ever happened, nor was it ever likely to happen again. The technician chucked the gun at Howard, pointedly not giving it back to Mermin, and stormed from the area of dispute. Connor took one look at him and eagerly let the fuming man into the driver seat; now was not the time for childish rotas.

* * *

><p>The anomaly itself was at the end of a dead-end alleyway, a dank and dismal place, home to only one tramp, Mike. Mike at this particular moment was trying to rebuild his make-shift home out of new cardboard he'd pillaged from the back of a supermarket; the rain last night had caused some structural failure in the last one.<p>

It was while he was doing this that he was suddenly blinded, albeit temporarily, by a burst of golden light that settled in a mass of broken shards. Mike slid down the wall in shock. This shock turned into astonishment, as a creature, looking suspicious like a dinosaur, emerged. From the brick wall. It was certainly not your everyday spectacle.

The beast sniffed a few times, then passed by, leaving Mike on the ground, quaking with fear.

Twenty minutes later, everyone else turned up.

The previously empty alley was filled and there was so many people and sights and _noises_. Mike felt rather overwhelmed and it wasn't until and blond, friendly-looking man approached him that he realised that he was still part of this scene.

Cutter remembered Jenny's advice about leaving the public to her. And ignored it. "Don't worry. We're... electricians and this is just a... temporarily power surge. We just here to... get the power back." Cutter made a note to listen to Jenny.

"B...but there was a... thing. An animal. It just appeared!" exclaimed Mike. He wasn't just a fool on the street to be overlooked. The suited woman glanced at him, up and down, then smiled a sickly sweet smile.

"Why don't we have a chat?" she mocked.

* * *

><p>"Stephen, we have an incursion!" cried out the Scott, and whirled around to rush off, brushing past a well-dressed woman approaching. "He's all yours," Mike heard as the two past.<p>

Mermin, meanwhile, was quietly taking control. He'd set up a perimeter around the site, although this proved ineffective as most the scientists were in too much of a hurry to let anyone check their passes, and had radioed the police to advise them of the situation, although they heard the word 'ARC' mentioned and lost interest.

As soon as the cry went up about the incursion, Stephen came rushing over. To Howard. That man certainly knew how to hold a grudge.

"Don't give into him, Howard!" Mermin ordered, and Stephen bestowed him a dirty look.

"I follow the dinosaurs! I track them; that's why I'm here in the first place!" the man exclaimed. "Isn't it more dangerous to do it without a gun than with?"

"You track; we come with you to offer armed support. Howard!"

"Sir!"

"You come with us. Mr Hart is about to experience proper back-up."

* * *

><p>The dinosaur hadn't actually gone that far, only a few corners, the huge dents in the concrete here and there providing useful markers to its route. Stephen turned to Mermin.<p>

"Well? What do the regulations say about this?" Mermin thought for a minute, then cut through Stephen just as he was about to speak.

"Taylor. Gather a team of men, go up to the main road, and then down the alley by the bakers. You need to spook the dinosaur back towards the anomaly. The sergeant and I will persuade it to take the right route."

A 'Yes sir!' that crackled slightly. Stephen coughed purposely.

"No." And the matter was dropped. "Howard, there's two alleyways it could go down other than the one we want. You take to first, I'll take the second and Mr Hart, send a message to my men. They'll stop it overshooting. Got it? Go!"

The three men departed.

* * *

><p>"...And then, he had the cheek to send me back. I'm more experienced than him. And Howard, come to that!"<p>

"You're more experienced than Howard by three days," sighed Jenny, sick of the bickering between the scientists and security at the moment. Being a civil servant, she generally got caught in the middle.

Suddenly, there was a shout and the group's heads snapped up. The anomaly was starting to become fainter and the constant movement was lacking in ferocity. In short, it was threatening to close in the next few minutes, and they still had a dinosaur out.

A growl was heard, along with some crashing. That would be the soldiers setting the creature on its path back. Stephen had positioned the two soldiers who hadn't gone with the other group up the alleyway with metal bin lids, ready to make a hullabaloo. He checked to see they were ready, and rushed off the get into an SUV for safety.

The sight that came into view thirty seconds later was not the one expected.

* * *

><p>Mermin had settled by the time the noise arose. His gun safely in his holster, he waited, not really expecting the dinosaur to come his way; the alleyway would be a squeeze for the poor beast and there was no need to pull out any dangerous weapons. He crouched down, not wishing to be an edible distraction.<p>

The heavy footsteps that pounded down the street came closer.

And closer.

And closer.

Suddenly, the creature burst into view. Although not running, its six foot stride created the perception of great speed, though the ruckus mustn't have spooked it as much as intended. It was probably this that meant its attention was so easily caught.

"CAPTAIN! THE ANOMALY'S CLOSING! YOU NEED TO GET THE CREATURE BACK RIGHT NOW!" Connor's voice echoed through the narrow alleyways with ease and the dinosaur immediately snapped round to eye Mermin, letting out a colossal roar at the sight of the crouching man.

It lunged and only just missed Mermin's head as the man rolled aside, back into the main alley. The creature twisted and Mermin knew he had to make a choice.

Run one way and lead it to the closing anomaly or run the other way and lead it to the mass of shopping civilians with little hope of returning it back to its own time.

It wasn't really a choice.

As he scrambled up, he heard the creature crash into some large bins; glass smashed on the tarmac. He didn't look back though. He had to concentrate on accelerating away from this carnivore that surely had a higher top speed once it sorted itself out in order to pursue.

Sure enough, the Earth shook as, first slowly, then increasingly rapid booms were heard behind. He tried to grab for his gun, but found it jammed in his holster's catch. He stumbled as he fumbled and at the last second stopped himself from toppling over. With no time to untangle it, Mermin had to rely on his own physical abilities.

He rounded a right hand bend sharply and the creature went straight into the wall as it missed the Captain by a hair's breadth. The slight panic turned to relief as he spied the men blocking the continuation of this path.

Relief transformed to fear as he realised the dinosaur was going too fast to be stopped by them.

* * *

><p>As soon as he spotted them, Stephen acted on instinct, grabbing down for his gun that he always kept by his feet in the car. His hand met with air. The soldiers had no time to collect their guns from where they'd placed them in order to hold the 'dino-scarers', as Connor had dubbed them. Stephen swore mentally and turned to Cutter.<p>

"There's nothing I can do. He's on his own! The fool!"

* * *

><p>Mermin was all too aware of this fact as he neared the turning. There was only one option and it was risky, which clashed horribly with his safety-conscious disposition. But still, he had to take the dive.<p>

Skidding to turn, he veered into the dead-end, where, thank goodness, the anomaly was still hovering. Weak, but there. He turned to face his opponent, who seemed to realise its prey was cornered. It stared Mermin into the eyes, as if challenging him to make a false move. Mermin remained motionless.

The creature charged, building up dramatic speed. As it approached the lone Captain, it opened its jaws to reveal the sharp row of teeth, purposely evolved for slicing flesh.

The Captain leapt sideways, but it was too late. The two collided and bowled through the anomaly.

The rest of the team scrambled form their vehicles and Howard, having heard the dinosaur speed up and followed, arrived at the same time as Stephen. They were ten feet away from the anomaly when it closed.

* * *

><p>On the other side, in the Middle of Jurassic, Captain Mermin stood up and surveyed the dead dinosaur, it head laid against the rock that it hit when it landed. He supposed he should be grateful for that, but then he looked behind. At the space where the anomaly had been. Instead, there lay a rocky expanse, with the odd fern dotted here and there.<p>

Three hours later, he gave up waiting and went to find shelter.

* * *

><p>"Gasosaurus. He'll be in the Middle of the Jurassic," stated Cutter. Howard just stood there, silently watching the space. "He may come back. There could well be another anomaly around that time and..."<p>

"Shut up," said Howard. There was no emotion. This wasn't someone lost. This was someone who would continue living, simply stuck, separated from wife and child and yet...

No, false hope wouldn't be the answer. Not this time. Connor came up behind and stood there for a minute. Howard knew that couldn't last.

"He really didn't want to get back to that paperwork, eh?"

Howard sighed and smiled dimly. No one laughed, but it broke the tension.

"Next time." Cutter spoke slowly. "Next time, you make sure Stephen gets a gun."

This time Howard smirked. He loved working with these people.

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><p><strong>Did you know that reviews make a writer 85% happier and quicker at writing? (Source: my mind)<strong>

**Please review**


	4. Chapter 4 : Colshaw

**Bonjour! The next chapter, roughly a week later. Expect the next one in (hopefully) the same sort of time. Having said that, last week of term is hectic. So sorry the first upload had the line breaks missing.  
><strong>

**Quick warning on this one. Obviously, I'm going through the ways that the ARC can lose Captain and one way couldn't be overlooked, but I can assure any sensitive readers, no gore, no details, more implication. I've tried to write it so it's still surprising (for all those who like surprises). **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. I do own a post-it note. Swap?**

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><p>Captain Stuart Colshaw, aged thirty-two, brown hair, and size nine boots, stood outside the office, feeling remarkably like a chastised schoolboy. He'd been waiting for twenty minutes now and doubt was starting to creep in about whether he'd be seen this hour. The person in question, a James Lester, was apparently on the phone to someone 'highly important', but Colshaw felt this was little excuse for not seeing the man brought in to ensure the team's safety. Perhaps this man felt safety was of a low order; Colshaw hoped not. Having been shown a clip of the... creatures involved in the work here, he was aware that care was needed.<p>

Which was why it grated him slightly to accept that some of the civilian scientists here were allowed guns. Though, placed as a joke, Miss Lewis commented that Temple shouldn't be near one. Colshaw didn't ask.

"Hello, sir," broke in a voice. Colshaw looked up to see a man gently smiling and holding out his hand, which was accepted. "I'm your Sergeant, sir. Howard. Lester keeping you lingering?" Colshaw nodded. "Yeah, he'd be on the phone to the Minister. Get used to it."

Colshaw frowned. "You're openly criticising your boss? Brave fellow, aren't you?" Howard shrugged.

"You should hear what the scientists say. No, as far as I can tell, he's alright, just sarcastic."

"Well, then there'll be no need to belittle him to strangers, is there?"

"Sir, with respect..."

"Howard, as much as I appreciate your basic opinions, please allow me to formulate my own. I dare say it will help me get along with Mr Lester much better."

The Sergeant looked affronted, but remained silent. 'Great!' thought Colshaw. 'An insubordinate Sergeant, who no doubt has the scientists and security on his side.'

A half minute of quiet fell, until a suited man, with slicked-back brown hair, opened his door. Lester glanced between the solemn men.

"I see you've met Sergeant Howard, Captain. I'm afraid he takes after the scientists' attitude," Lester said.

"Nothing wrong with that," exclaimed Howard, a smile limping back up his face. Lester sighed.

"If I wanted a security section with that discipline of Connor, I'd have hired a pack of Tomcats. Still I suppose you're better than just Stephen." Lester turned to Colshaw. "Well, come in. I may have all day, but that doesn't mean I want to use it."

Colshaw, slightly taken aback by the exchange, manoeuvred inside. Howard returned to the break room to report to the others.

* * *

><p>"So, you don't want this one to stay either?" moaned Abby. "You realise the novelty of this situation is wearing off? I would like a central leader in place of men who empowered to shot these creatures and who are inexperienced enough to do so."<p>

"I agree. Even though I now have rights to our protection, I'd feel safer knowing we have a solid leader. Not that you're not doing well, but..." Stephen's sentence faded as Howard tightened.

"You act like I want this! Every time I have to add an extra clause onto the contract, the more likely it is there'll be no applicants this time. It's halved since Andrews at least! And I don't want to be stuck in charge, but I do want someone suitable; there's no point if he's not."

"Aye, I know, but listen, Howard," soothed Cutter. "You've had one conversation with this man. I know you're anxious; there are lives on the line. But he could be brilliant and you can't afford to lose another. The fact is..." The alarm blared out and Cutter shut his eyes briefly. "We'll talk later. Now, everyone, come on." He jumped and rushed out, followed by Connor.

"This is a disaster! He hasn't even met the men yet," groaned Howard. Abby grimaced and helped the despairing man to his feet, before rubbing his shoulder in a moment of comfort. The Sergeant was becoming a firm friend as the question of security became more relevant to everyone.

Cutter cried out to hurry up and so the remainder of the group went to work.

* * *

><p>The first part of the journey was in an awkward silence as the four men sat, trying to ignore the frost that had settled once Howard found he had to drive the new Captain there. On the Captain's part, he didn't exactly integrate himself with a comment about 'Pest control; how hard can it be?' Considering the man had surely been told about the risks involved, and possibly the fatality figures, he had not made friends. What really compounded it was he didn't seem to sense the offence he'd cause and this lead to ask:<p>

"Why does Stephen have to have a gun? Does he throw a fit?" There was a pause until one the soldiers in the back, Banks, summoned some courage.

"The last Captain took the gun. Stephen could have saved him, but couldn't. And we all knew he could." It was monotone, as he'd quite liked Mermin (and Sanders). No-one was expecting Colshaw's next statement.

"I'd appreciate a little more respect in your answers, Banks. I understand you feel you have the right to, but your judgement could be off. This could be more dangerous."

The shocked silent air halted. His comment was universally likened to saying you could jump off a cliff because 'it might not be as high as it looks' to someone whose home had just fallen off it. Colshaw remained unaware, and continued once it became clear no response was coming.

"Others may want your guidance, but speak so insubordinately again and I'll have you on a charge."

"THIS ISN'T THE ARMY!" yelled Banks.

"BANKS!" Howard ordered, stopping the situation before it could really get out of hand. "Captain, may I suggest you rethink your comments. In this line, you should listen to all advice. And this line isn't the army, so all you can do is fire him with _good_ reason or have a stern word." Colshaw seemed to take a moment to absorb this information, apologised more profusely than Howard was expecting and then simply studied the rain fall copiously outside for the rest of the trip.

* * *

><p>The anomaly was located on the fourth floor of an office block, much to Connor's chagrin. Jenny had her hands full with an office of workers, but she wouldn't have been a lot of use anyway, as all the equipment was lugged up the stairs, the lift apparently being next to the 'flashing broken glass thing'.<p>

Colshaw made himself useful by carrying a couple of boxes up, only to have his breath taken away by the sight of the anomaly.

"Cool, eh?" prompted Connor, looking up from his typing. "It's my belief that..."

"Temple, isn't it?" interrupted Colshaw. Connor nodded. "Allow me to be the first to tell you that I'll keep the silence, so you can keep the science. I don't need a lecture at every moment of the day." Connor opened his mouth, then thought better of it. Howard's words rang in his ears. The quiet that fell didn't lift until Stephen and the aforementioned Sergeant came in, a particularly awkward box suspended between them. Stephen was the first to spot Colshaw.

"Don't worry. Normally, we deal with our own equipment, but this time, well, we're not going to refuse. Any sign of an incursion, Temple?" However, before the young scientist could answer, Colshaw cut over him, eyeing the 'equipment' that Stephen had slung across his back.

"So, you're the one that has to have a gun." He continued just before Stephen could confirm this. "I'd like to make it clear, I don't approve, but I respect that many would disagree with this view, so I leave you to bare in my mind two things. One..."

"Hang on..." started Stephen, but Colshaw barged on.

"You must realise you can't order my men about. I'm the Captain for a reason." Stephen visibly relaxed; Howard knew he had no intention of leading the men, as his interest lay in the fine expertise involved with the animals, not just the 'if it's dangerous, shoot it' attitude. "Two, if there are any problems with it, whether it be not firing in time, a slight miss or even a disagreement with any of my men, you give it back. I'm not having such a liability run round the place, and I only suffer it while my men hold you in good favour."

Howard was left slightly bewildered by this statement. Obviously the first point was a natural worry for any Captain in this situation; even Sanders realised he had to establish a form of authority so men would obey him as a leader. The second though had his brain swirling. While he knew if Colshaw tried to remove the gun from Hart's possession, he would side with the technician, the reference to Security as _his _men and the fact he had been listening to Banks, even when he said he didn't want to, made Howard think again about the man. Maybe Cutter was right, and he just needed time with the Captain.

Stephen, however, took the opposite view and immediately dropped the case with a thump, stretching Howard's arm. He stepped back from Colshaw and exited the room, muttering something about needing to get more boxes and helping with the commotion outside that had held everyone else up.

Howard's brain clicked.

"May I ask, how long, sir, have you been a Captain?" The question, Howard knew, would seem to come out the blue and he hoped this would be enough to obtain an answer. It did.

"Six months. Why?"

"Because, sir, as an older soldier, may I suggest that you stop viewing every slight... familiarity between men and superiors as a threat to your position. It's just, most men want to have a friendly leader they can approach and make suggestions, and they do make good suggestions sometimes by the way, and the way they create this leader is by having the odd joke, possibly at others' expense." Howard smiled as Colshaw looked at the floor, sheepishly. Young Captain with little experience. No wonder he was afraid of others questioning him.

"Guys..." broke in Connor. "I think you should..." Howard redirected his gaze to the anomaly and instantly saw the issue arising.

"DUCK!" he cried and Colshaw did on impulse which just saved him as a creature leapt over the top of him and landed on a few desks, bumping into a pillar. Howard's blood ran cold as he noticed what sort of creature this was. Dinosaurs, OK. He could deal with dinosaurs because he knew that was what the new Captain was expecting, but the future predator that now stood in front of him now was rearing up and Colshaw was taking aim.

"No!" hissed Howard, but it was too late. Colshaw fired and in less than the blink of an eye, the animal moved, growling in shock. It dived for the Captain, who rolled out of its way to Howard, so it went skidding into a plant-pot, which smashed.

"They 'see' everything using echolocation, like bats," explained Howard to the Captain. The other man was pale and shaking somewhat.

The creature whirled around again and faced the two crouching men. Its face was screwed up in its characteristic snarl and the colours of noise exploded in its vision. It discovered the hiding place of its prey. Now all that came was the kill.

Suddenly, it was placed off balance and it thrashed about in pain. It was blinded and lashed out at everything that it could. Stumbling forward, it vaguely saw the forms rushed to surround it and, in its panic, its arms spread wide. One connected with a soft object, which was hurled to the other side the room, the other pushed over a cold, hard object. A breaking sound was seen, then a peace once more reigned.

Howard had braced himself for the attack that would surely kill him when, out of nowhere, a guitar rift started up. The part of the brain that remained calm made a mental note to ask why Connor stored music on his work laptop, which wasn't technically his to begin with. The other part thanked the stars that he had flouted the rules.

He glanced across to check on Colshaw, who seemed to have regained some of his senses.

"We need to get a close-up shot, preferably in its head," whispered Howard and Colshaw nodded. The Captain signalled to the Sergeant to circle the future predator, obviously not wanting to make a sound just yet. Howard couldn't blame him; the creature was still moving erratically, edging closer to the source of its distress.

So, Colshaw went left and Howard right, keeping a small distance away from the beast, which kept tripping. As Colshaw reached a pillar, he squeezed in a little, getting a few inches nearer to the future predator.

That was all it took. Its arms whipped out, catching Colshaw in the stomach, hurling him over the desks. To make matters worse, the other arm hit the laptop, breaking it, so the music fizzled out too.

This made Colshaw's heavy breathing even more noticeable. The predator stabled itself, then went hunting for the injured animal it could hear after from the anomaly. Connor nudged Howard, indicating with his head to the fading anomaly that they stood by. This one was short-lived.

Grabbing a paper-tray, Howard hurled it at the predator, striking it on its back. The effect was instantaneous. It howled in rage, then bounded off a couple of desks, before landing in the central walkway, facing Howard and the anomaly.

Howard was seeing flashbacks from the last time he saw Mermin, who stood in this exact same position, before disappearing forever. He detected Colshaw standing up in his peripheral vision, yet mainly his concentration was on the beast before him.

Unexpectedly, the door to the stairwell opened, startling everyone in the room, as Cutter and Stephen walked in, unaware of the danger they had just encountered. Colshaw took this distraction as an advantage. He stumbled back behind the predator and aimed his gun right at the base of the neck.

Howard felt the anomaly wink out of existence.

As Colshaw pulled the trigger, the creature rushed up to face Cutter, so the shot missed and hit the carpet. Howard realised that it felt it was cornered, and was attacking anything and everything. It was more dangerous than any they'd faced before.

Luckily for Cutter, the noise of the gunshot disorientated the predator and stumbled to the ground again. Unluckily, it sorted itself out far sooner than Colshaw could reload. It flew through the air at the man, but just before it hit its target, another shot rang out. But this one was different. This one hit the creature in the side of the head and so the beast hurtled sideways and lay limp on the blue carpet, discolouring it. Stephen lowered his gun.

Howard shot it once more, just to make sure. According to Cutter, it was this creature that had claimed Ryan's life.

He looked up and faced a white Captain, who was shaking excessively. The gun was loose in his hands, which was just as well as they gripped with spasms.

"I need a medic up here right now," said Howard into his radio, never loosing eye contact with Colshaw. He gently took the man by the arm and led him down the stairs, leaving the others to deal with the body of the creature.

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><p>That night, Colshaw joined the scientists for a drink in the local pub. It was the first time they had invited him, and he was slightly smug about being included in such a way. After all, the security and the scientists have to work together, so making friends with them wouldn't hurt.<p>

This smug feeling, though, was overshadowed tonight and the others knew why. They'd found out in the answer to the first question they asked.

"How's Colshaw doing?"

"I don't know." The others looked at him in disbelief. They knew Howard always checked on his soldiers when they were hurt and afterwards, he'd been singing Colshaw's... not praises, but compliments at least. "He left the hospital."

"That's good, right?" said Abby. Howard frowned.

"Yeah, but he left. On his own. I went to see how he was, give him a lift if necessary, but when I got to the hospital, they said he'd driven home. Couldn't stop him. I know the hospital's only round the corner to the ARC, so his car was in reach, but still..." Howard sipped his drink. "He's learning how to be an officer, one that has friend sin the ranks and can admit he's ill." He shook his head.

"But he was in shock! They wouldn't have let him out in that condition surely," Cutter protested.

"He'd said he could get a lift from one of the men. I've asked them. None of them did and his car's gone."

Stephen patted him on the back and Howard sighed. Well, at least the man was alive. That was the main thing.

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><p>It was possibly this thought which made the next morning even harder for Lester. He'd called the team in as soon as they got in and insisted Howard sat down. He explained about Colshaw driving home. He explained about the wet conditions. He explained about the lorry.<p>

The room was eerie. No-one spoke, but once more, looked to Howard's reaction.

After five minutes, the Sergeant sat up, pulling his face from his hands.

"This job is definitely cursed."

Stephen and Abby gripped a shoulder each. Another minute went past, before Connor spoke.

"Only by paperwork. It's just... next time, you need to hire a luckier Captain."

Howard agreed, smiling grimly.

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><p><strong>Review please. Pretty please =-)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5 : Meaden

**Salute! The penultimate chapter (I think). Anyone who's read my profile will understand the delay in this one. Sorry! Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. Or take part in any episode. Not even a cameo.**

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><p>Jenny was a little put out. She'd left the hiring of the new Captain a short while, partly out of respect and partly because it was becoming an all-too regular chore. However, she'd been ill the past two days and had come back to find that someone had gone and found a Captain. The excuse that had filtered through was that it had become paramount that a man took over to reduce the risk of the top scientist being lost. Jenny wasn't fully pacified, but they were in need of a Captain, so she let the matter lie.<p>

And so it was that Howard was welcoming in another man into the office that he stole to do the paperwork. At the current going rate, he was tempted to start decorating the barren room and place pictures of his mother and brother in there. Hopefully, though, this one would be better. He was still feeling the after-effects of Colshaw, although Sanders had provided him with a more positive outlook on the situation, as he did with everything. To be fair, Howard cheered up at just the sound of Sanders as he picked the phone and shouted 'Don't point that gun this way!' It reminded Howard of Sanders with Connor.

Anyway, the new Captain seemed pleasant, and eager to learn about his place of work. After a few questions concerning the locations of the captured animals and the ADD, Howard decided to take Captain Meaden on a tour of the building.

"So, you don't keep many animals, then?" he asked Abby, as Howard was talking with Connor.

"Not really. We try to get them back through the anomalies where possible and the ones we don't are usually too dangerous so have to be put down. It's a pity really," sighed Abby.

"I hear you have a pet though," soothed Meaden. Abby nodded.

"Yeah. Rex stays at my house. He helps me keep Connor in check. On the subject of Connor..."

"Don't let him near guns, creatures or... tin openers?" Abby giggled as she remembered why this particular piece of advice was handed down to all new recruits.

"Been talking to Lester?" Meaden nodded. "Yeah, by the end of the week, you'll have probably added to that list." Smiling, Abby made to walk off, but Meaden grabbed her arm, a gentle smile displayed on his face as Abby frowned.

"Just out of interest, does Cutter deal with the creatures that stay much?" Abby glanced down at the firm hold he had on her, and then back up to the Captain's eyes, which juxtaposed his hand's intentions.

"A little. He has an interest in them, obviously." Meaden relaxed his grip and thanked Abby, before saving Howard from one of Connor's lectures to go and meet Stephen. Connor strolled over to Abby, who was staring after Meaden.

"Do you think he'll stay?" he casually asked, overlooking Abby's defensive position and facial expression. There was a pause.

"I hope not," said Abby absently. Connor gave her a perplexed look. "I dunno. Something doesn't seem right about him."

"Let's go and find Cutter. He may be able to out his finger on it," suggested Connor and Abby nodded.

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><p>The pair eventually caught up with Cutter in his lab-room, writing up an equation that even Connor wasn't clear about. He listened to the explanation given, but it was short.<p>

"We can't raise any issues now. Remember Howard was complaining about Colshaw after the first meeting, and the second, but he reconsidered and identified the problem."

"You mean we just have to leave it!" exclaimed Abby, leaning forward over the desk. Her gaze held the determination that secured her place in the ARC.

"No, I mean if we protest now, we'd have no evidence and be creating an ill-feeling in the ARC." The Scot stood up and gently picked up a pen. "Today, we do nothing. If the feeling persists, we take action."

"Should we tell the others?" asked Connor. Cutter pondered the question for a few seconds. He was tempted, but equally he felt unlikely that Meaden was working alone and they didn't want to let on that they were investigating him.

"Maybe we should let Jenny look into his past a little closer..."

"Do I hear my name?" cut in Jenny, as she entered the room. "Just to let you know, Lester's after you." She glanced around. "Well? What about me? Or was this just school gossip?" She smiled and Cutter reciprocated.

"I'll be right along. But, in the meantime, I need you to do a little background digging on Meaden." He walked out swiftly, leaving Jenny staring at the gap he had just vacated.

"I take it he didn't mean officially," she said, staring sideways at Connor and Abby who merely grinned. Jenny sighed. The number of things she had to do for the job were mounting up, though most were things she couldn't claim overtime for. "Right, well, I'd best get a spade. A virtual one, Connor," she said, as Connor opened his mouth to question. She clipped out, her heels contrasting the hush-hush assignment she'd just been handed.

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><p>Howard watched Meaden with intrigue. Currently, the man was standing around, leisurely chatting to the men, which was very nice and all, but they were meant to be reviewing the ammo stocks. A pleasant five minute break would be usual, but this Captain had been speaking for almost an hour. Even the other men were beginning to look bored.<p>

The man had been around for five days and very little work had been done in that time. At first, it was amusing, but now it was frustrating, especially as Howard knew that when he tried to use some of his authority as a Sergeant, he would be undermined by his Captain.

Banks sidled up and started whispering. "Gas box, isn't he? He's making out that he cares loads about us and our welfare, but I feel it's only bravado."

"So overly done that you're cynical," guessed Howard.

"That's right. I like a friendly Captain, but not one who is so blatantly endangering lies." Howard looked at him curiously. "This ammo check should have been done days ago, but he stopped it then too. What if we run out? We're always using them in target practice and it's not like that's stopped, what with him not being able to speak over gunfire."

Howard turned back to Meaden, who was at present making some wild hand gestures. The picture was of absolute engrossment in his subject and being completely oblivious to the fact his viewers were practically nodding off. Eventually, the lecture was finished and Meaden left the men... with half an hour that day. Typical.

Howard was so consumed in his own thought that he didn't hear the other person approaching, even with their clipping heels, until Jenny grabbed his arm. Banks tactically removed himself.

"Easy, Jenny. People talk you know."

She sighed. "Shut up. I need to speak with you urgently. In private." Howard raised his eyebrows in surprise. Her annoyed frown stopped any running joke, though.

"Come on," The Sergeant loosened her hand from his arm and glanced around. The Captain was nowhere to be seen, so he picked Banks to be in charge.

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><p>"I don't believe this! I'm going to have to throw all these clothes away," complained Abby, as she swept down the corridor, closely followed by Connor. Both were covered from head to toe in a slimy kind of black oil that trickled down their necks, along their backs and legs and dripped onto the floor, leaving a pool of darkness.<p>

"I said not to touch it!"

"AFTER I had touched it!" cried Abby stopping so suddenly Connor crashed into her. "Honestly sometimes..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," interrupted Stephen, as he rushed from a side room to investigate the argument. Cutter came out at a more sedate pace. Stephen looked the pair up and down. "What happened to you!"

"His container exploded!"

"She fiddled with it!"

Cutter attempted to stop a laugh, but it sneaked out as a faint snort, which caused Stephen to start smirking. The older duo exchanged knowing looks, while Abby stood there feeling positively humiliated and Connor pulled back out of sheer embarrassment. It was the alarm that saved them, blaring through Stephen's next sentence. Cutter headed straight off, but Stephen waited to place a hand on Abby's shoulder.

"Perhaps, you two should skip this one." Abby let out a growl of frustration, before heading to the showers.

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><p>The low rumble of noise was almost below Lester's hearing range, but the way it echoed through the emptiness of the ADD room and reverberated in the glass windows caught the civil servant's attention. Mystified, he stood up from his computer and crept, in an orderly way, out into the vacant space. The fact his secretary was gone was no surprise; it was her birthday and her and a few colleagues were out having a meal. Still, he <em>was<em> surprised that Leek had apparently left with them.

The rumble came again and Lester was immediately on his guard. Something was not right. He slowly turned around to face the dark-haired form. He barely felt the punch.

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><p>"There's nothing here!" declared Stephen in irritation. "Not even any evidence of an anomaly and with all this stuff around, something would have been disturbed and it hasn't." He gestured to the shelves of the supermarket stock. "There never was any anomaly."<p>

"Could it be a technical fault?" asked Jenny, willing to voice her views clearly with no Connor present.

Cutter shook his head. "No, Connor dotes over that ADD. He would have made sure nothing was wrong with it at least three times today." "Is something wrong, Sergeant?" he enquired, as Howard looked around, his confusion evident on his face.

"He's not here," he stated.

"Who isn't?"

"Meaden," put in Jenny. "I was going through his file earlier today. Turned out it hadn't been properly entered into the computer and, as a result, certain things had been overlooked. Some of the dates didn't match up, so I phoned up the MOD. The file was cut short, but they convinced me this was due to a technical error; said that there were traces of a format clash. Now, I'm not so sure." She sighed. "We've got to get back to the ARC."

The team jumped in the SUV, leaving everyone else to pack up.

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><p>When Lester came to, his first sensation was of heat on his face. The sharp intake of breath around his ear tugged him sharply into the real world. Without moving any other muscle, he opened his eyes and saw the Lycaenops move around to his back, investigating him. Rotating his eyes, he noted Cutter's stool just outside of arm's grasp. Realising he'd only have one opportunity, and that now was as good a time as any, he rolled sharply and pulled the stool down onto the lunging creature. It yowled, but Lester was hard pushed to care. Instead, he scrambled to his feet and hurried to the wide open door; he knew it had been purposely left open for this creature to hunt him down more easily.<p>

Turing right, he hurried towards the armoury, only to round the bend and literally run into Abby and Connor, the latter of who seemed to be sporting a huge bite on his leg. The civil servant grabbed the pair and dragged them into a side room, slamming the door shut just in time to hear the Lycaenops collide with the door.

Then, he straightened his suit jacket and tie.

"Right. Which of you would care to explain why exactly we're cornered in our own base? Hmm? No takers?" He looked expectantly at the young duo.

"We haven't a clue," answered Abby. "It should be in the menagerie."

"Well, I hardly thought you'd willingly allowed it to take my job as boss of this madhouse!" cried Lester. "The question is: What are we going to do now?"

"But, that wasn't your question," stuttered Connor, before gulping at the look Lester was attempting to kill him with. He backed down. Again. The world was beginning to become muddled.

"We need to get to the armoury. It needs to be subdued, but Connor can't be running about the place; he's losing enough blood as it is and is starting to become confused. It came at us as we were getting dressed." Lester raised his eyebrows. "We'd had a shower. Separately. Just... don't ask." Lester nodded, then jumped back as the Lycaenops hit the door again.

"Right, well, we'll need a plan."

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><p>"Go faster!"<p>

"I can't," asserted Howard to Hart. "I'm doing twenty over the limit and I really don't want to crash at this particular moment."

"There's still no answer from Lester. He's just not picking up," said Jenny. "Nor Abby or Connor. Hurry up!"

Howard refrained from speaking.

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><p>As soon as Connor opened the door, Abby and Lester charged, using a chair as a battering ram to bowl over the Synapsid. Connor closed the door and blocked it, sitting down heavily. He could feel the blood loss start to make him light-headed.<p>

Abby chucked the chair at the creature, then ran after Lester, who was already making good progress to the armoury. She cornered and the Lycaenops just missed her leg. Speeding up, she overtook the less-fit civil servant and ran into the exercise area. Waiting for Lester, she pulled out a weight pole, ready to swing if her boss needed her to.

Lester came through a couple of seconds later, with the Lycaenops hot on his heels. Abby swung and there was a crack as she made contact with the creature's nose. The howl echoed down the empty corridors and made Connor shiver with a mixture of fear and joy; something had upset the creature.

T here was a clatter, causing Abby to turn around and see Lester wrestle another box open to reveal its bare insides. He looked at her in anger.

"There's no ammo," guessed Abby and the civil servant nodded in confirmation. "Right, well, we need another plan."

"Oh, brilliant. And I suppose you have one handy?" asked Lester. "LOOK OUT!" Abby whipped round, catching the creature a second blow.

"Grab the weights," she ordered.

"What?"

"Just grab them and climb onto the counter," she repeated, waving the pole at her foe menacingly. Not wishing to argue at a time like this, Lester clambered up in as dignified a manner as he could muster, heaving the weights up. Now, safely out of the way, his brain began to settle down and he realised the aim of Abby's actions.

Abby dodged around the Lycaenops' jaws, blocking its exit. Bringing the pole full circle made it step back. Its roar partially deafened her, but she stood her ground. It lunged and she parried it.

Noting Lester was in place, Abby strode out to attack. The pole whirled through the air in a figure of eight and the creature, wary of the danger this posed, backed up.

Abby trust the pole forward and it backed up further.

She slashed it sideways and it backed up again.

And was crushed by 200 kilos of iron. Lester hastily picked up another one, in case it wasn't enough, but Abby shook her head. The creature was dead.

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><p>Connor, meanwhile, was bored. It sounded stupid, but, as it was, he was stuck, alone and with little to do, bar pressing the wound. After a few minutes of nothing, he tugged out his phone and found it off. Funny, he didn't remember switching it off before he went under the shower and he certainly didn't have time afterwards.<p>

When it lit up, it dinged with eleven missed calls, but there was no time to check them as it rang again.

"Connor? Thank goodness. What's happening there" rushed a stressed Jenny.

"Abby and Lester are struggling with the Lycaenops. Where are you?"

"Close," she replied. "Look Connor, we think it's Meaden. If you see..." The sentence trailed away as the phone was removed from Connor's ear. He stared up at Abby, who met his gaze as she spoke.

"The Lycaenops is down, but we need a medic for Connor. NOW!"

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><p>Ten minutes later found Connor in the care of medics and Abby and Lester being examined for any damage.<p>

"Well?" asked Howard, as he surveyed the scene, arms folded. Jenny held out a picture of Meaden. The real Tony Angus Meaden. He was ginger and young.

"An engineer. Died in a car crash two months back. Never had been posted anywhere." She screwed up the page. "That Captain is nowhere to be found, but the fact he was heartless enough to take the identity and forge the papers... he was up to no good."

Howard let out a sour laugh. "You don't say. Who handled his hiring?"

Jenny sighed. "Leek. Rushed it through and cut a few corners in the checks. Said he felt we needed a new Captain after Nick and Stephen were stuck with that girl. Lester isn't half going to give him an earful." She turned as Cutter came up, thrust the paper in his hand and walked off. The scientist studied Howard carefully, before taking in the scene too.

"We've got a traitor in our midst," he suddenly stated. Howard glanced at him dubiously. "These papers, they were forged internally. Any corruption on the MOD system would be seen, but ours aren't protected as much, especially not against someone on the inside." He met Howard's eyes. "You believe me?"

Howard pondered the implications and the past few months carefully.

"Yes, I think I do," he whispered. "Still, three people are out of the picture." He nodded towards Abby, Connor and Lester. Utter hummed in thought.

"Maybe not. That creature couldn't have eaten all three. Someone would have survived." Howard agreed, then breathed out sharply.

"Well, you create your theories. Just so long as they don't make more paperwork for me. I've got enough and I don't need any as an early birthday present."

He strode out and Cutter smiled.

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><p><strong>Review<strong>** sil-vous-plait****.**


	6. Chapter 6 : Meers

**This is the last chapter! Wow, my first fic complete. Please, please, please review, so I can work out whether this was good or bad or middling as a whole. On that note, thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this, placed this on alerts or added it to favourites; the encouragement was priceless.**

**So, here is the last chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Primeval. I know, you're amazed at that fact. ;-)**

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><p>Captain David Meers signed his name on the dotted line again. He knew his position would entail a lot of forms, but this was ridiculous! He'd spent half the day in here and he was getting uncomfortable in the pale blue room, the coloured walls a constant reminder of how settled his second-in-command had had to become in the small office. A reminder of how many men had held this post. Of how many men had failed in it.<p>

But not him. He was determined that he would stay, to change and reorganise the security so that it was something to be proud of, which so far, it wasn't. In his opinion. OK, he'd admit he hadn't been here long, as only a week had past, and that there were some very experienced members of the outfit, but he was a hardened soldier too and he knew a decent team when he saw one, which he didn't here. To long without a firm leader; Howard was good, but not good enough for Meers' tastes. Meers was fair though. He blamed any problems the Sergeant had on the amount of paperwork.

Slamming down his pen as his thoughts returned, he made the decision that the paper would still be here tomorrow, so long as he was actually out there defending people so they could save the world... and the paperwork. There was always a downside to some things.

Striding out of his office, he headed down to the armoury, where Howard was drilling the men in ARC defence procedures. Meers had no idea why this seemed to be Howard's favourite drill at the moment, so he put it down to nervousness after his predecessor's betrayal. Leaning against the door-frame for a couple of minutes, the Captain let Howard drone on a little longer, before halting the lecture, midway through a sentence.

"Isn't it rather useless to have this defence procedure?" he interrupted, and quickly became aware that every eye in the room was focused on him in surprise. "I mean, if this person who is attempting to find out about you can forge documents, they'll surely know any measures that you will take to keep them out. It's a waste of time." He noted the locking of the Sergeant's jaw and realised he'd lost a friend there. No matter. If he wanted to improve everything, he'd have to rustle a few feathers, starting with those older soldiers, who would be stuck in a certain way.

"With respect, sir," replied Howard, with absolutely no respect whatsoever in his tone. "By that reasoning, any steps taken would be useless, as these people would know us. Therefore, technically, we can dispense with all these drills and be left panicking when... _if_ it happens. I'd rather have people who have an aim to work for than a load of headless chickens. Besides," he smiled, turning to face the men. "I have every confidence that these men will be able to adapt a plan when needed." There was a low murmur of agreement and the eyes returned to Meers, who left before they could reach him.

The murmuring rose again and the soldiers relaxed back. One sidled up to Howard.

"What do you think he was on, sir?" Banks whispered to his Sergeant. Howard shook his head in puzzlement; this new Captain was erratic at best. Sometimes, he supported Howard to he hilt and then others (in fact, generally), he was rather insulting. "He's staying, though? I mean, he's not too bad. Just a little hot and cold on you." Howard looked to the taller man and sighed.

"Yeah, he stays. I'm not going to veto him on my behalf. I need the break if nothing else and he dealt with that anomaly pretty well." The other soldier just nodded. "Right, what next?"

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><p>"Professor Cutter! A word please," cried the Captain after the scientist, who turned around with a bemused look on his face. "I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to have a meeting at some point to talk about securityscientist relations. I need to discuss a few issues with you."

"If it's about Stephen and I being armed, there's nothing to discuss."

"No, not that. About the availability of information and... companionship between the two halves."

Cutter frowned. "We go for drinks with Howard and a few of the men every week. Isn't that enough?" Meers opened his mouth, but Cutter continued. "I prefer real friendships to professional ones. They tend to be safer." The scientist walked off, leaving the soldier agog; he'd at least expected help from the professor. There was, however, no time to rethink his plans, as the sirens blared out. He sighed, and knew many others would be too; apparently, the anomalies only appeared when you were in the middle of something important.

Rushing to the garage, Meers found that Howard had already got everything under control. The Captain breathed in deeply, wondering why he'd been employed. Breathing out again, he strengthened his resolve and strode up to the Captain.

"Any details, Sergeant?" he asked, steering clear of the corner of the box Howard held as he swung around.

"Yes, sir. There's a witness with this one. She phoned into the police, so we know it's pretty small and in some ruins out of London."

"A distance away, then," thought Meers out loud. He paused. "Howard? How about you stay behind? In case there's an emergency here. I'd rather have a man I know to be competent in charge."

"But sir...!" protested Howard.

"I think it's the best course of action. Take a unit of men, including Banks if you want." Howard tried to object, but Meers ignored him and got into an SUV. Howard clenched his teeth and his hand became a fist briefly, before he backed down and picked a unit of men, including Banks. However, he chose newer troops purposely, so that he knew the experienced troops could protect his scientific friends.

Meanwhile, the Captain's SUV was silent as the other men awkwardly shifted. After a couple of minutes, one of the younger members spoke up.

"Are you sure that was a good idea, sir? I mean, he is used to commanding around anomalies."

"Exactly, Swann. It's time to see how you lot can cope without him," replied Meers sternly. No-one told him that Howard was really only there to delegate tasks, that really they could do the tasks on their own, thank you very much.

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><p>Leek was walking to the armoury, having taken a rather annoyed phone call from Cutter about Howard staying behind. After a conversation where Leek was pointing out the professor was always rushing in without back-up so why did it matter and the professor assuring him it was the principle that counted, Leek was riled up. He had a feeling Jenny helped in that argument.<p>

On arriving in the armoury, Leek found Howard organising kit with ten others. He watched the fluid motions and the expertise that each man had with the weapons. A fleeting hint of unease crept into his thoughts, before he quashed it.

"Heard you were here, Sergeant." Howard just grunted around a magazine in his mouth, before the gun he was holding clicked and he was able to load it. "Still, I'm sure you'd be pleased to hear Cutter's missing you. That's almost a sign of appreciation from him." Howard stopped what he was doing and looked Leek in the eye.

"Good. Then he won't mind if I tag along with his lot next time."

"What?"

"I'll ask him next time I see him. Actually, it's probably a good idea. If I arrive with him, it's harder to lose him."

"Yeah," put in Banks. "And I heard Meers asking Cutter to help improve security/scientist relations, so the Captain can't object."

"But... surely you're just acting like a child!" complained Leek; he could imagine Howard being present on more and more occasions. The PR man didn't think he could stand a board room meeting with the Sergeant.

Howard shrugged. "Possibly. Works for Connor." He returned to his sorting and the rest of the men busied themselves, ignoring Leek, who marched out.

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><p>When the alarm sounded again, Howard could barely believe it. As much as he hated to admit it, Meers appeared to be right in leaving him behind. He didn't mention it as he phoned his Captain, though, instead stating the situation and briefing him on the action he was going to take. The Captain seemed rather annoyed that fate wanted Howard to be leader; Howard wasn't too pleased either, but everyone else was now almost eighty miles away, so there wasn't any choice.<p>

"Well, this anomaly is more or less sorted, so we'll be on our way to you as fast as possible."

Grabbing a spare locking device that Connor had just finished, the small team headed out to an abandoned small-ish mansion in the suburbs.

On arrival, Howard left three men, with Banks in charge, to set up the science equipment, with Connor giving directions over the phone, so that they merely had to place it in front of the anomaly, when they found it, and press a button. Safer.

The other eight men split into two groups; one to locate the anomaly, the other to check the house for any incursions. The anomaly team started in the basement and prepared to work their way up. Howard headed up the incursion group and signalled for them to follow single file, guns and tranquilisers at the ready. They crouched as they walked, weary of the danger that they could be in. They explored the kitchens and a dining hall to begin with, but this job was broken off part way. Heavy footsteps could be heard above, creaking the ceiling above them.

Returning to the main hallway, they climbed a flight of stairs and turned left onto a large landing.

A vase broke in one of the furthest bedrooms.

Waving his hand, the soldiers ducked at Howard's orders, knowing that he would guide them through. Holding his palm to face them, Howard walked out, across the landing to the facing room, a sort of nursery. Peering out down the corridor, where the noise came from, he couldn't see any danger yet, so he skirted along and ducked into the next room. Another soldier took up his previous position. Three more lay between him and the end room.

A low growl echoed towards them.

Dipping back into the room, Howard waited about ten seconds, before glancing out again. The corridor was still empty, but there was a movement down at the end.

One of the soldiers, Marson, suddenly overtook Howard and went into the room in front of him. Turning back, Howard frowned at him.

"The creature was on the right hand side of the room. It could see us," he whispered, indicating to the final soldier, who was now sharing a placement with the second. This man, Keyes, nodded to confirm the story.

"Any ideas what?" mouthed Howard, conscious of the close proximity they were to it. The shake of the head told him all he needed to know. Mindful of the fact he needed to lead, Howard scurried a little further up, so he was outside the door, and positioned himself in the middle of the corridor, posed and ready to shot the tranq. He heard the others soldiers moving behind him.

What he didn't realise was that the last two rooms were conjoining. The future predator leapt out between him and the other three, cutting off not only his back-up, but his escape route too. He turned as quickly as he could, but could see his men had been caught off balance, their guns pointing down while they were creeping forward. The predator raised its claw to swipe at Marson

"Retreat! Retreat!" he shouted above the roars and realised his mistake. The predator whirled round and its arm hit the readied gun, jerking it out of the Sergeant's grasp so it fell against the wall.

Howard's flight instincts kicked in and he scrambled away, back into the bedroom. As he faced this one, he sensed a second to his left, hidden from the others. Crawling back further, he hit the wall and was able to pull himself up to see his men taking aim. A shot rang out but it missed the first predator, instead burying itself in the wall besides Howard's head. The Sergeant shivered involuntarily and just regained his senses enough see the first predator chase after the others down the stairs. Further shots sounded, but Howard ignored them; he wasn't even concentrating on the predator that was slowly advancing on him. He concentrated on the figure behind it.

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><p>When Banks heard the shot, he hung up on Connor, the instructions that the young scientist was giving being of no use to a non-scientist like himself. Reaching for his gun, he jogged into the house porch, then indicated to the others to follow. Upon entering, he ran straight into the four men who were trying to find the anomaly, their faces showing they'd had no luck. A split second later, three men came tumbling down the stairs, closely followed by a future predator. Banks gasped, then dropped, readying his gun. He felt the others do the same, providing a front for the bewildered three men to dive behind.<p>

"FIRE!" he ordered and there was a volley of bullets, which all fell uselessly against the steps as the creature dodged away, so fast it was a blur. It bounced through a side doorway and out of sight.

"Follow it!" he commanded.

"What about Sarge?" cried Keyes. "He still up there."

Banks swore. "Is he in danger?" Keyes bit his lip nervously, but shook his head. "Then we follow it! Come on!" he urged and the ten men gave pursuit to what they thought was the only threat.

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><p>"Leek." Howard stared at the small, grey man in disbelief, his eyes widening. "What...? Why?"<p>

"Sorry Sergeant. Nothing personal, you understand; I have bigger things to do really, but... I believe you'd only be a hindrance. Going along with the professor... you die now or later and I prefer to spread my work." Howard glanced at the predator that was getting closer. "Oh, yes, I worked out how to control them. The probe on their heads."

Howard noticed to box for the first time. How did he not notice that? 'Imminent death' replied his brain. Howard replied that now was not the time to be flippant, especially towards himself. He was facing death and having a conversation with himself. Maybe that's how normal people react. Howard doubted it.

"You're going to kill me?" he asked, once he'd finished his inner monologue, his voice steadied than he thought it would be. He felt he was expecting his men to turn up in the nick of time. "You're going to kill me because I protect the team too well." Howard let out a small laugh in disbelief, his tear ducts starting to water. No, he couldn't cry. He met Leek's glare. The man smile in an almost sympathetic way and held the gaze.

"Take it as a compliment."

And the predator pounced.

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><p>Half an hour later, Banks heard the SUV pull into the drive as the ten men were searching garden, Marson being certain he saw something move in the bushes. There was nothing there so they gave up once they heard the engines come up the drive. Walking round to Cutter, who jumped out, Banks briefed him on the situation, as Meers hurried inside to find Howard, who by this point was obviously missing.<p>

"Try the top floor. That's where we left him."

Five minutes later, the Captain came out pale.

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><p>"I can't stay, can I?" stated Meers to Banks as they watched Howard's locker being cleared out.<p>

The other soldier sighed, not wanting to tell the straight truth, but knowing it would be an insult to Howard to lie. The Captain read the silence and nodded in acceptance.

"I thought I could to improve this place, but that's not how others will see it. Lost one of the most experienced soldiers in a week and made it clear I didn't want him any more beforehand. Some will say planned." Banks nodded once. "Well," said Meers, with more force, drawing himself upright. "Good luck in finding a replacement. Hope you find someone who'll stay in the job, especially now..." His voice lost strength and he looked at the silent Banks. "Maybe you should try for it."

"No chance," said Banks abruptly, keeping his eyes on Howard's possessions being searched for any classified information before being sent on to his Mum.

"Well, you'll get someone eventually. I mean someone suitable and with brains," corrected Meers as a joke. Banks didn't laugh. "Sorry." Banks glanced down at the ground, before returning to the scene. Meers tried a smile and failed. "Goodbye." And he left.

After a while, Cutter came up to Banks and slung a friendly arm around.

"So, the anomaly must've been brief and we've lost the future predators, along with our acting Captain," stated Banks. Cutter nodded.

"They'll turn up. And in the meantime, you'll be good enough. Only temporarily," reassured Cutter, as the soldier began to protest. "Howard trusted you, so can we. And hopefully, we'll soon have a new Captain permanently." Banks acknowledged this statement, but straightened to move away. Cutter stopped him. "Just one thing. Good luck."

"What? With the dinosaurs? I'm experienced too, you know," said Banks, a smile creeping up his face. Cutter smirked and shook his head.

"Not with the dinosaurs!" Banks frowned. "With the paperwork." And, with that, Cutter tapped the man on the shoulder and walked off and Banks realised why Howard spent so much time with his friends, the scientists.

_The End._

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><p><strong>Reviews and comments please.<strong>

**xx**


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